Dan For Mayor, “A Date With Vengeance” (1.12)

“Hm. You spent thousands on appliances, a couple hundred on a cellphone and dinner, so yeah, lesson learned.” – Dan

So, will the Canadian hit continue strength to strength, or falter as the season starts winding down? A review of the episode, written by Mark Farrell, Paul Mather & Kevin White and directed by Kevin White after the jump…

I don’t have much to say about this episode. Dan and Claire still have no chemistry (and thankfully the show may send her off to Vancouver, though I fear a ‘rush to the airplane’ in the finale), Mike and Brianna ate up a significant amount of screentime, and generally the humour was, well, boring.

I want the show to be funny, tautly written, and use its cast to their full potential. I want the dead wood to be shorn off, and the plots to be funny. Hopefully the show’s big ratings through season one have earned it a budget raise, so the show can hire a writer or two; Mark Farrell, Paul Mather & Kevin White, who have written every episode, are either unchallenged or just not very funny.

I have such dreams for this show. It could be a quirky little surprise, a great little show that could do Canada proud. Right now it seems like it belongs on NBC Summer Bunoff Theatre. Here’s hoping the finale offers some gleamings of hope.